When You are Out of the Office
When you are out of the office, you should be out of the office.
I worked for a man once- the CEO of a company- who bragged he had not taken a vacation day in over 9 years. Anytime you brought him a “vacation slip” (which was required to request time off), he would look at it and sigh saying, “Wow. I’m shocked you are taking that much time off. You know, I haven’t taken a vacation day in almost 10 years.”
It created stress on the team. People were fearful to take time off and one lady actually missed an opportunity to go to the Caribbean with her husband because she was too scared to ask.
What do we know?
-We know taking time off is healthy.
-We know taking time off recharges us.
-We know taking time off gives us space to think.
We also know that taking time off can be stressful. SO STRESSFUL. We come back to so many emails it feels like we need a day to just catch up from our vacation. We come back to projects that didn't move forward in our absence... or sometimes worse - projects that did move forward (but not how they should have!)! And, at the end of our first day back, we often wonder: "Was the vacation even worth it? Am I more stressed now than I was before I went on vacation? "
And those are NOT the questions we want you asking.
So let's talk about the four things to do before you go on vacation so you can truly be out of the office.
SET EXPECTATIONS
There are four groups I want you to set expectations with:
1 - Yourself. Decide, in advance, when you are checking email. Which meetings you are hoping onto. When you are checking in with people. You can obviously answer any of those questions with a big, fat NEVER. Realistically, once you get to a certain level, it may not be accessible to have zero touch points through a vacation. However, it is always realistic to manage those appropriately and not let work hijack your time away.
2 - Anyone on Vacation with You. Once you set those expectations with yourself, I want you to set those expectations with whoever is traveling. Your spouse, your kids, your friends - any and all of them! If you can share, "I am going to need three hours Monday and Wednesday morning to work," they can plan for when you are unavailable and know when they can count on you to be present. "Dad won't be able to do breakfast with you every morning, but that means you get dad all afternoon in the pool!" Now kids can look forward to the undivided dad time opposed to just being bummed out that dad is working... again.
3 - Your Boss. Your boss probably doesn't check your outlook calendar to see where you are if they need you. And, depending on your boss, they might not remember the conversation you had three months ago letting them know you would be out of the office. Do yourself (and them) a favor and remind them. Also share if you will be jumping online at any point and what your plan is for any potential emergencies.
4 - Your Team. Let them know what to expect. When will you be away? Can they reach you if they need you? Should they call you? What should they call you for (and what should they not call you for?)? Too often we just assume everyone is on the same page. Don't assume. Be clear. It sets you and them up for success.
EMPOWER OTHERS
The highest praise (in my opinion) is to go on vacation and have your team still able to function at a high level. People get too caught up with being worried they are replaceable. Let me remind you - YOU ARE REPLACEABLE. That is not a bad thing. You want to develop the people beneath you... you want to mentor and coach your way out of a job. I have a client right now who we are working to get as much off his plate as possible. He is the CEO. Our goal is to get everyone else doing (almost) everything he is currently doing! That means he is left to lead.
Before you go on vacation, consider everything that needs to be completed while you are away that you cannot or will not get to before you leave. Maybe it is a financial report that is pulled every week and sent to the leadership team. Maybe it is a quote that is still waiting on one last number from a vendor. Maybe it is a sales meeting that runs every Monday morning.
Then, I want you to identify who can own that task. Maybe it will be a developmental opportunity for the individual. Maybe you hand it off to someone who has been asking for more responsibility. Maybe you ask a trusted peer to assist in your absence.
Next, hand it off... appropriately. If someone is competent in that task and has the capacity to see it through, maybe you just need to ask them to handle it. If someone has never completed this task before, you may need to sit with them and walk them through it. Make sure to:
-share what a proficient job looks like.
-what to do if they run into an issue.
-give them permission (if appropriate) to make a decision.
-see if they want to do a run through.
-ask what they need from you before you leave.
You also want to provide clarity to the rest of the team on who owns what. This expedites progress and instills confidence in the individual responsible.
The last thing you need to do: Give yourself permission to let go. Give yourself permission to hand this task off. Give yourself permission to help this individual learn and evolve while you are away.
ANALYZE YOUR TO-DO LIST
I for some reason convince myself I am superwomen before every vacation. I make the most unrealistic list of things I will check off (projects I have been putting off for months), decide I will deep clean the whole house (who doesn't like coming back to a clean home?!), and ... well, you get the gist. And what inevitably happens? I am up way too late the night before and all the aforementioned stuff does not happen.
Look through your to-do list and identify the HAVE TO DOs before you leave and the DON'T HAVE TO DOs. Be honest with yourself. This isn't time to reorganize all your files or build a spreadsheet that will enhance your processes. This is the time to get what needs to be done completed. Stick with that.
PUT UP AN OOO
Nothing gives me permission to be present on a vacation like an Out of Office. I can get an email on my phone and I don't have pressure to check it, because I have, in my out of office, communicated that I am unavailable. I know they are not sitting around waiting for a response because I told them I wasn't responding immediately. This is effectively setting expectations with those who are looking for you.
Your OOO can be as simple or descriptive as you want. Here are some examples of Out of Office Messages from different Insights Styles (interested in receiving your Insights profile? Reach out to get the process started!):
Fiery Red
Sunshine Yellow
Earth Green
Cool Blue
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Take care of these four things then head to your vacation (or staycation!) with the knowledge you have set yourself and your team up for success and can be truly present and out of the office!
